Primetals Technologies Wins Order From EVRAZ NTMK to Supply Blast Furnace Automation and Electrical Equipment

Primetals Technologies a Metal-Expo regular exhibitor wins another order from EVRAZ NTMK to supply automation and electrical equipment for reconstruction of a blast furnace

• Process automation optimizes operational parameters and reduces coke consumption

• Fully virtualized automation system reduces servicing costs

• Primetals Technologies also upgraded blast furnace #7, which has been in operation since the beginning of 2018

EVRAZ Nizhniy Tagil Metallurgical Plant (EVRAZ NTMK), a Russian steel producer, has awarded Primetals Technologies an order to supply the automation and electrical equipment for its reconstructed blast furnace #6. The basic automation (level 1) and the process optimization (level 2) will be installed as a virtualized automation system on central, redundant servers, which will drastically reduce servicing costs, especially those for future upgrades. The new process automation will enable the operational parameters of the furnace to be optimized and coke consumption to be reduced. The order is worth several million euros. The blast furnace is scheduled to be commissioned by the middle of 2020. Primetals Technologies previously supplied the electrical equipment and automation for the blast furnace #7, which has been in operation since the beginning of March 2018.

After running for 15 years, blast furnace #6 was shut down at the start of 2018. The blast furnace will be completely demolished, including the secondary plant equipment, such as the stockhouse, hot-blast stove, gas cleaning and dedusting systems. It will be completely rebuilt, and as from 2020 is scheduled to supply the hot metal for the plant in Nizhniy Tagil together with blast furnace # 7, which was brought into operation in 2018.

With an annual production of 4.9 million metric tons of hot metal and 4.2 million metric tons of steel, EVRAZ NTMK is one of the largest steel works in Russia. The integrated iron and steel works is located in the city of Nizhniy Tagil in the Sverdlovsk Region of the Urals. It primarily produces train wheels, rails, structural steel, pipe blanks and semifinished products. Nizhniy Tagil is one of the oldest Russian steelmaking and mining centers.

A major reason for winning the order was the company's good experience the with automation and electrical equipment Primetals Technologies had installed in blast furnace #7. In the past two years, Primetals Technologies has also received orders to install automation equipment in five blast furnaces in Brazil, Europe and India.